Gates of Hell
by Shortey
Summary: I'm pretty much your average teen. No combat training. I've got little experience in reading maps. No idea how to defend myself. Read my story of my struggle to fight for survival in Raccoon City.
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: Resident Evil and its characters belong to Capcom. Only the story plot and additional characters belong to me.

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CHAPTER 1: Just a Normal Day 

I chewed the end of my pen as I concentrated on the paper before me. A slight frown marred my features as I stared at my English essay. Great, another essay about Shakespeare. I sighed as I clutched my pen and scribbled more notes that are most probably non sense. Don't get me wrong, I usually love English. It's my favourite subject. But today I'm not just feeling a hundred percent. There's something I don't feel quite right about nowadays. Maybe it's the lunch I ate today.

"Alright, class. Time's up. Please stop writing and drop your pens down." Mrs. Cavel called up from the front of the class.

Hushed whispers and groans erupted from the class. We're all glad the test is over. I scanned my work once again to make sure I've answered all the compulsory questions then I put them accordingly.

"Hand your papers in once I come over to your desk to collect them. Once I've done so, you are dismissed" Mrs Cavel said as she went around the rows of desks gathering test papers. A mixture of sighs of relief and groans of dread chorused as one by one each student piled out of the classroom. Mrs Cavel stopped by my desk and picked up my paper. "And I expect you to get the top grade again, Miss Wu" she said with a smile.

I merely gave a slight nod upon acknowledgement. I usually do well in this subject, but somehow I have a feeling that I didn't do my best today. I gathered my things and headed out of the door once my papers were collected. I quickly made my way to my locker, turned in the combination for the lock and dumped my books inside. I quickly grabbed my History textbook and a notebook and slipped them inside my backpack. I've got another history test coming up. I sighed once again as I made sure I've got everything I need then closed my locker door shut and proceeded towards the double doors of Racoon Junior High school. Just another normal day.

My name is Ann Wu and I'm 15 years old. I'm Amerasian; I was born here in the States however I have Chinese descent. Both my parents came from China and they shortly had me after moving here. I had lived all my life here in Racoon City. I'm pretty much your average teen. I love writing stories and poems for our newsletter. I like to chat on my computer. I love reading in a quiet afternoon. I like to hang out in the mall with my friends, watch movies and eat chocolate sundaes. I like to go shopping sometimes when I'm bored. I like my English classes; I get good grades in school. I take piano lessons and I play tennis and do gymnastics in a regular basis. I'm pretty small in height; I'm only 5"1. I have long black hair up to my waist and most people say I looked younger than my age. I'm the only child in my family. I'm your normal girl walking home from school on a normal day just like any day.

The afternoon breeze blew my hair back as I walked towards my house. I secured my pink headband on my head as I adjusted the straps of my backpack on my shoulders. I can't help but hum a little at the music I was practising for piano. Rows of brick and tiled houses with big oak trees lined up along the street as I kept walking. I looked both ways before crossing the street and turned around the corner towards my street. The sun was bright and beating upon me, I could feel the sweat beads trickling down my back. I couldn't wait to get home and get a nice cold glass of orange juice. Maybe once I get home, I'll phone my friend Catherine and plan our weekend together. Maybe we could work on our history test together if we don't get caught up with the gossips and such.

There have been a few speculations about horrible things happening in the town. Apparently a few murder acts have been committed and groups of people had been found…eaten. Of course with news like that, the town was quick to spread horror stories amongst each other. And it really freaked me out. Honest, to know that there's some cannibal out there who wants to feast on human flesh is not exactly a comforting thought. More occurrences had been reported on the news and it got people worried. The murders seem to happen at the other side of town where the lower class citizens lived. I live upon the middle class society but still, you never know. I increased my pace while walking. I just wanted to get home. A few kids who were walking behind me either reached their destination or they just looked very, very far away.

"Grrr…"

A low menacing growl interrupted the quiet atmosphere. I spun around to see the source of the noise. Empty. My eyes scanned the area around me. I had just passed the public playground just a few blocks from my house. Not a soul was anywhere near me. The swing gently swayed back and forth, making a soft screeching sound from the chains. I squinted. Am I imagining things? The sun disappeared behind some thick clouds making my surroundings a little dim. Ok Ann, don't lose it. You're just stressed out from your English test today. I spun my heel and started jogging towards my house. I have never anticipated going home. I practically threw the front door open as I reached it.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" I panted as I dropped my backpack on the hallway. I shut the door and proceeded towards the kitchen to get a drink. I really need one right now. I heard the door from the lounge room open as mom came in.

"Hey, sweetie. How was your English test today?" She asked as she came over beside and started removing plates and pans to prepare dinner.

I took big gulps of orange juice before answering. "It was ok, I guess. At least, I hoped so. I think I'll pass" I answered shrugging as I placed my empty glass on the kitchen counter. I got our rice cooker out and started helping mom cook for dinner.

Mom tsk tsked. "You know, Ann you should really take your studies more seriously. I want to see you put in more efforts to get good grades. Your dad and I don't want to see your grades slip by as you move onto high school."

I sighed and resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I mixed some water with the rice. My parents are always nagging me and telling me to do well in school, graduate and get a high paying job, blah, blah, blah. I must have gotten these lectures a billion times in my fifteen years of living. Sometimes it gets sooo tiring even though I know my parents mean well. "Yes, mom. Next time I'll try not to gossip too much on the phone with Catherine. Anyway, where's dad?"

"Over there in the lounge room watching the news. Why don't you go to your room while I go finish preparing dinner?"

"Sure. Thanks, mom."

I grabbed my backpack off the hallway as I headed upstairs towards my room. I couldn't help but hear the news out as I was about to climb upstairs as I passed the lounge room. I stopped for a while to listen about something interesting.

_"…a man found dead on the outskirts of Raccoon forest. It was reported that the man had several bites all over his body. There are huge parts of torn flesh mostly punctured on his limbs. Those bites are believed to be caused by some wild animal roaming the forest. Police are now investigating the cases of these bizarre murders occurring in the __Raccoon __City__."_

A shiver ran up my spine as I listened to the horrible story. I hoisted the strap of my backpack on my shoulder and ran upstairs to my room. I dropped my bag on my bed and grabbed my hairbrush and started to brush my long hair as I thought. I don't know I always seem to brush my hair whenever I have a lot in my mind. What's going on with the town? Why are all these strange horrible things happening? I bit my lip as I turned towards my window facing the road of my street and gasped. My hand stopped in the middle of brushing my hair.

A big black dog was staring up towards me behind the swings from the playground. Saliva dripped down from its foaming mouth as it let out a low growl. Its left ear was torn off, bits of ragged flesh hung from its torn place. Patches of fur was missing from its body and I noticed big chunks of flesh were torn all over the length of its back and sides. Its torn flesh was slick with blood and even though I'm far away from a distance I could tell that its entire body was covered in blood. I couldn't help but stare in horror at the dog. It looked like it was ganged up by a bunch of wild animals and was dragged back and forth on rocky ground. Almost in an instant that I saw it, it turned around and ran back disappearing behind the bushes beside the playground. What on earth happened to that dog! Was it also attacked by the same wild animals which murdered the man from the news? Why wasn't it limping and looking weak? Judging from its appearance it looked like a mower had ran over it. The dog moved with agility from its powerful legs.

What is going on with Raccoon City?


	2. Rumours

DISCLAIMER: Resident Evil and its trademark is rightfully owned by Capcom.

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CHAPTER 2: Rumours 

Beep! Beep! Beep!

My eyes shot open at the sound of my alarm clock ringing. I groaned. I hit the switch button off then threw my covers aside and swung my legs to my carpeted floor. I had a stretch before opening my curtains allowing the morning sun to invade my yellow and white room. I took a quick shower and got changed into my jeans and yellow cardigan jumper before joining my parents downstairs for breakfast.

"Morning, mom. Morning, dad." I greeted them as I slid unto my seat in the dining table. I poured myself a glass of orange juice.

"Morning." Dad said as he took a sip of coffee. In his other hand, he was holding a copy of The Raccoon Times newspaper. Across the table from him I could see the main headline news: "_Couple Found Eaten by Riverside_". I shuddered.

"Here, honey. Have some pancakes I just baked." Mom said as she placed the freshly baked fluffy pancakes in front of me. Mom makes the best pancakes in the world. The sweet aroma invaded my nostrils making me hungry. My mouth would have usually watered if it weren't from that disturbing news article from the newspaper.

"Thanks." I helped myself to a good portion pouring some maple syrup over it before digging my fork I glanced up. "Hey, dad what's up with these murder things suddenly happening?"

Dad closed the newspaper and laid in on the table before answering. "That's the strange thing. I'd like to know myself. Apparently people, especially residents living by the outskirts of Raccoon City by the borderline between the Arclay Mountains and the town had been reported being murdered. All seem to have the same cause of death. They are either reportedly eaten. I would have guessed we have some cannibal out there or someone who is seriously mentally ill."

Mom shook her head. "Those poor people. I hope the police catch whoever is responsible for these unspeakable acts."

"Yeah. It's getting heaps of people pretty freaked out in school. Whoever it is needs psychiatric help." I gulped the last few of my drink then stood up and gathered my things. "Anyway I'm done. See you after school."

"Oh, honey? Would you like to have a lift to school? My meeting is cancelled this morning so I have some spare time," dad called to me as I grabbed my bag.

"Yeah thanks, that's great dad."

As my dad and I drove out of our street we passed the playground by the corner. A mental image of the dog flashed before my mind for a second and I remembered the bloody, mangled body it had, the foaming mouth and the dripping saliva. I could almost hear the threatening growl that was never filled with so much outrage. I gave my head a shake as the image disappeared like a balloon popping. Forget the dog. You have other things to do. I quickly consoled myself as we drove on the rows of trees and houses blurring together into a mix of colours too faded to make out of anything. In the back of my mind I tried to place the grotesque image of the dog, to mix into the colours and hopefully never to be made out again.

"Oh my gosh, did you see that man's face in the newspaper? It was like a scene from a horror movie. I swear he had no face anymore with all the mangled flesh being torn off."

I placed my tray of food across my friend as I sat down. It was lunchtime and the cafeteria was beginning to be crowded as I came to usual table I eat with my friends. Catherine looked at me expectantly as I began unwrapping my tuna sandwich.

"Ann! Have you seen that really gross news about that couple who was killed by the riverside? I mean, that is so horrible! Their faces looked like someone put it in the meat grinder. So creepy! I bet we have this weirdo psycho living in the mountains who hunts people then kills them." Catherine said energetically. She was practically jumping out of her seat. That's my friend. Has a wild imagination and a very lively personality. She's a little taller than me around 5"4, has long auburn hair and grey-blue eyes. She's a little chubby, but that kinda makes her look cuter. We became really good friends since the start of the school year.

"Uh huh. Mutilated bodies. Not every nice when it's the first image you see and you're having breakfast."

She laughed. "Man there are so many stories about these murders. I swear there's at least a killing every single day. I heard that this crazy lunatic had a daughter and she died. She was the same age as us and everyday he'll go killing anyone until he kills as many people as her age. He would cry and plead for her to come back to him. What a psycho!" she rolled her eyes dramatically as she reached for her chips.

"Yeah. I have heard of murders happening because people were being robbed or caught in a gang street fight or whatever, but murdering people and tearing off their flesh is just gruesome," I added taking a bite of my sandwich. I made a face as I chewed remembering those disturbing pictures from the papers.

"You guys talking about the strange murders?"

I looked up to see Francis who is another one of my best friends. "Hey, France." I slid over to let him have more room to sit down. He placed his tray down beside mine as he sat down. Francis also happens to be my next door neighbour; we've known each other since forever.

"Have you guys heard? There's another murder but this time a whole family was massacred," he said. Catherine's jaw dropped open while my eyebrows shot up.

"Really! What happened?" I dropped my sandwich, my interest was too captivated with another gruesome story than the canteen food. Besides our cafeteria food always tastes like cardboard anyway.

"Apparently a family was found dead inside their own home. The whole place was a mess it's like a war happened there. Anyway there was blood everywhere. The family members can't hardly be recognized coz they've got so much blood on them. And you've guessed it. They've got bite marks all over their bodies and ripped and torn flesh."

"Wha–! Oh my gosh! That is the most horrible murder in this town. Ok, we've definitely got a demented freak living with us. I am never going downtown ever!" Catherine exclaimed.

"That's the weird thing. There had been reports from the neighbouring victims that they were attacked by about ten people." He shrugged chewing thoughtfully.

"Ten people? Do you suppose a cult or something?" I asked deep in thought. It was hard to imagine a town like this could have bizarre troubles. After all, Raccoon City is a small populated town. I pretty much live in a suburban town with a population of around 300,000 residents. It has a quiet and peaceful atmosphere. It's also a popular local tourist site especially on the upper section class. The town has the cosiest cafes and one of the nicest Japanese gardens on the area. It's also big on plants. There's quite a few plant stores around selling special herbs for the body. Some of them are believed to even cure people's wounds cleanly at a decent rate. Special plants and exotic flowers can often be seen planted along fancy flowerbeds that lines up around the apartments upper town. I often see it whenever I stop at a coffee shop with my friends or parents. A small quiet town is just hard to believe to house madmen or women who likes to murder civilians and eat them too. It's just not right.

"Who knows? Could be a pretty messed up cult or a bad gang."

"These news are getting freakier than the last. I have heard lots of horrifying stories. I even heard one girl from our year level disappeared one day while walking home from school. She was never found alive again. Well, not her whole body. Her head was found severed and there's all these dogs carrying it and eating it up. How gross," Catherine pretended to gag. Francis scrunched up his face looking grossed out as well.

Just the mention of a dog with a severed head made me stop on my tracks. For a minute I saw the black mangled dog in my head holding a bloody head between its teeth. I felt a shiver creep up my spine. "There have been heaps of stories going around. All of them are scary. Some are probably exaggerated for effect."

"Maybe so. But remember, there's always a hint of truth to rumours and stories," Francis said opening his milk carton.

I stared at my tray of food, lost in my own thoughts of the events that had happened. It's unnerving. Stories reported on the news and papers are only seen on horror movies and stories. To hear about them actually happening in real life is just so unreal. It's like we're on a movie and our real lives are suddenly placed in a movie script or something. A loud bell rang out on the cafeteria signalling the end of our lunch break. One by one students started piling out of the cafeteria until few people are left around the tables.

Catherine groaned. "Oh no. History's on. And we've got another stupid test to do. I hate tests!"

I couldn't help but smile. Catherine can be such a drama queen at times. She always moans about tests that she won't pass it and how she's gonna fail big time. However she's not as bad as she thinks she is and manages to pass usually. We gathered our empty wrappers and cartons on our trays and put them in the disposal bin. We started heading to our class chatting what we did during the weekend.

"See you guys around. I got PE right now," Francis said as he headed towards the gym. I waved as he left.

"How much did you get to study?" Catherine asked.

"I managed to study for a couple of hours after I finished with my chores. I don't think I've studied enough, though. Well I hope this test is better than our English one last time." I did tell my parents I'd study harder. I usually get good grades in school but ever since this year, I'd been a little distracted with my friends either chatting on the net or talking on the phone. And my parents are suddenly worrying that I'm gonna let my studies slip. I'd better show them I'm still on track.

She groaned again louder. "Man! After this test we'll be having a group assignment for English, now that you've mentioned that subject. Ugh, knowing Mrs. Cavel she's gonna choose the groups. I just hope I'll end up with someone cool."

I nodded in agreement. I really don't wanna get stuck with someone who's a social loafer.

The remaining time was spent answering short answers about The Black Plague and its events. It wasn't a tough test to do and I'm sure I'll pass this one. After finishing the test I copied down my homework which was to read text passages in our text book about the effects of the bubonic plague. I quickly wrote more notes in my organiser printing the necessary information in my neat blocked writing. Pretty soon the bell rang signalling the end of class. I capped my pen after I finished writing down my notes and looked up to see most of the class had already gone out. I stood up from my desk after packing my things away when a newspaper page caught my eye. It was the same page that my dad was holding this morning about the murder of the couple. The headline stared boldly at me announcing the news to the whole world and disturbing pictures accompanied the story. I had never really read the whole article. I approached the piece of paper on the floor and soon after curiosity got the better of me. Bending down, I picked it up from the ground and held it at arms length to read concentrating, my eyes reading word by word.

**_COUPLE FOUND EATEN BY _****_RIVERSIDE_**

_A couple was found early this morning by a hiker in the riverside along __Raccoon__Forest__. Victor Hales (31) and Margaret Field (28) were found several feet away from each other. The couple was reported to be found at around __6:30am__. Michael Dose reports his findings as "very shocking and disturbing murders" upon the dead bodies. Both couple had bite marks all over their bodies that appeared to be both human and animal like. Torn human tissue can be found surrounding the bodies and a couple of metres away from them. It seems like they couple fought a struggle first. Shoe prints and ground marks can be found on the area. It has been reported that a group of around ten people were responsible for these murders. Hales apparently is reported to have huge missing pieces of flesh on his neck and death is the reason due to blood loss. Clothes were torn and bloodied and two fingers were missing from his left hand. The bone from his right leg is protruding out. Field, who was a couple of feet away has torn ligaments hanging out from her left eye socket, her eyeball apparently missing. Several teeth were found near the body which is assumed to belong to the female victim. One shoe is also missing and the body is covered in bite marks similarly found from her boyfriend. A huge hole was found from her stomach, the intestines, kidneys and flesh all eaten out. Both bodies are covered in blood and the victim's jewelleries were used for identification. _

_The S.T.A.R.S Bravo team was sent to investigate these bizarre murders. Bravo team's captain, Enrico Marini describes these happenings as extremely unusual. "We had not had reports of murders as bizarre as these. Each victim is found eaten to death at unusual circumstances. All incidents are reported in or around __Raccoon__Forest__. We believe the culprits are hiding within these woods. The team is working hard to uncover whoever is responsible for these horrific murders. We strongly advice people to stay away from the forest for the time being until this case is solved and use precautionary safety actions such as locking doors and windows at night."_

I folded the paper in half and tucked it in hastily in the newspaper stand at the corner of the class in disgust. This is unbelievable! This sounds like a script for a horror movie. The news left me washed with a feeling of dread. It seems like Raccoon Forest houses the place of horrors. I don't know much about that place. I have never been in it. It was situated by the outskirts of town just near downtown and I don't usually go that far. I hope the S.T.A.R.S team find those insane maniacs whose idea of murder is to eat human flesh. I could feel goose bumps on my arms and my hair standing at the back of my neck. I looked around class out of my deep thoughts realizing that I'm completely alone. I hurried out walking as fast as I could pushing out the disturbing images of the murder out of my head as best as I could.

Author's Notes:

Tinkies: Thanks for your sweet review! Really appreciate it )

HHOD: Wow, I was pretty surprised to receive a review from you. Thanks for the compliment, I'm really honoured from it D


	3. Assignment

DISCLAIMER: Resident Evil and its original storyline, plot, characters and trademark are owned by Capcom.

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CHAPTER 3: Assignment

"Alright, class. I will be handing in your group assignment today which you will have two months to complete," Mrs. Cavel announced in English class.

Today we will be getting our group assignment to do. Apparently, this is a huge one counting for 60 of our final mark.

Excited whispers and dreadful moans echoed throughout the room. I couldn't help but smile. Group assignments are usually a big issue due to many reasons. People dread being stuck with someone uncool or they wanted to be with someone they liked. I sure hope I'll get good group mates. I glanced sideways towards Catherine to see her look back at me then she held both of her hands up, fingers crossed. I smiled at her and held up my hand showing her I got my fingers crossed for good luck.

"Let me explain how your assignment will work. You will be working in pairs. Each group is to produce a group report and oral presentation on the topic of "Communication" and "Team work". Each individual in the group is to write a personal learning journal for the duration of the assignment. I'll hand in the assignment sheets to you to give you more ideas about the assignment." she continued as she gave a copy of the sheet to each student as she passed along the rows of desks.

I scanned my assignment sheet as soon as it got handed to me.

**ENGLISH**

**ASSIGNMENT ONE**

**WEIGHTING**: 60 of the subject's final grade

**GRADING SYSTEM**: all students will be graded with an A, B, C, D or E

**DUE DATES**: various times according to each part of the assignment

Communication is a vital part in everyday life. People communicate either verbally, gestures, facial expressions, by signs and symbols to get their message across. Working efficiently in groups ensures determines the outcome of success or failure. This assignment is designed to enable you to research, experience and report on the use of groups and teams. Groups are to be assigned in pairs. Each group is to report their results and will have equal share of the workload. All parts of the assignment must be completed to gain full marks.

**TASKS**

**1) ****Written report**

Many companies rely groups and teams to make get goals achieved. Choose a proper organisation that practices good team work and described:

the kinds of teams this organisation use

their rules and norms within the organisation

how does the company develop their ways to ensure employee participation

**2) ****Oral presentation**

Each group is to present a slide show for 8-10 minutes about their results on team work and what they have learned. Group diagnosis is to be included on how each team member participated, their roles and the methods done to get the achievements.

**3) ****Learning Journal**

Each group member is to keep a learning journal for the duration of the assignment. Reflection on what is learnt working with people can be recorded, the events that took place as members worked together and personal feelings may be noted down. The journal is 2000 words maximum.

That sounded like a good challenge. I really want to do my best and I usually get good results in class, but this time I'll be working with a partner. I'm not sure how it'll go, but I'm up for it. I'm not really used to working with other people.

Mrs. Cavel cleared her throat signalling the class to pay attention from their whispers and buzz. "As you have read from the assignment sheet, groups will be assigned in pairs. I have chosen each pair carefully according to your strengths, abilities and skills. I am expecting each group to produce good working results. Now, I'll read the groups and you may sit down with your partner to discuss your assignment."

"Carrie and James."

Once again whispers floated throughout the class. A couple of girls were giggling by the end of the row.

"Danielle and Andy."

"Steph and Monique."

"Catherine and Tommy."

From the back of the class a loud "WHAT!" can be heard out of protest. The whole class laughed and I couldn't help but join in. Catherine and Tommy get on each other's nerves. For as long as I remember, those two always takes the chance they get to annoy each other. With the two of them working together this would be an interesting assignment.

"Ann and Cameron."

I looked up to Mrs. Cavel as she announced my group and my partner. I glanced across the room to Cameron, who in turn gave me a small smile. I smiled back quickly breaking eye contact to look back to the teacher. When it comes to boys, I can be quite shy. I can't help it, it's like it's in my genes or something. The list went on until each one has a partner.

"Alright. Now, would you please get up and sit next to your partners?"

Chairs scrapped back as students gathered their books and headed towards their chosen partner. I was just packing my things when a shadow fell upon my desk.

"Don't worry. I'll come and sit next to you," Cameron said casually sliding in the empty seat next to mine. I glanced at him shyly out of the corner of my eye as I opened up my notebook and grabbed a pen. He opened up his textbook in the proper chapter.

"So we're partners, aye?"

I nodded. I glanced at my partner out of the corner of my eye. With a height of 5"10, dark hair and jade green eyes he is quite a popular guy in my year level especially with the girls. I haven't actually talked much to him, usually he is with his friends playing sports or hanging by the football field.

"So, what's up?"

"Ok. Hanging in." I managed a small smile. I tried to concentrate on the tasks before me. "So, uhhh…what do you think of this group assignment thing?" I groaned inside. What a lame way to break the ice. I swear I could almost kick myself.

He shrugged. "Ok, I guess. It's a change from our usual assignment methods. Guess Mrs. Cavel's into this whole group work thing."

I nodded once again. "It should be interesting. We've got some wacky partners paired up."

He chuckled. "Yeah. I hope Tommy and Catherine can last up to a minute without strangling each other."

I laughed as well. Looking around the classroom I spotted Catherine sitting with Tommy at the other end of the room. She looks like she's ready to murder the guy. Tommy was talking and waving his hands as he goes along. I saw Cath roll her eyes at him. I shook my head. "Yup, let's hope they can make it out of this one." I saw him give an amused smile towards their direction.

"Ok. So judging by the assignment we've got, it looks like it may take some time to do. We've got, uhh –" I picked up my assignment sheet to look at our deadline. "Two months."

Cameron sighed as he leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. "Man. Ok, we'll be working on this together. I won't be able to work on some after school times coz of football practice. What about you?"

"That's alright. I've got heaps of time to work on this. I only go to gymnastic practices twice a week, anyway. Shouldn't be too much of a problem for me. And I get the weekends too."

"I'll see if I can make some time before classes and lunchtimes. I'll feel bad making you do most of the work. Where do you usually hang around during lunchtimes?" He turned to look at me.

I tried not to look at his face and avoid eye contact. I don't know, I feel so self-conscious around him. He and I don't usually hang out together and our circles of friends are quite different. He's the popular type of guy, the well liked among peers. He's sporty and knows a lot of people. And it doesn't help the fact that whenever I talk to him, I get all self-conscious of myself. I got to admit, he's not bad looking. Ok, ok he's pretty cute. I hope I don't sound like an idiot around him.

"In the cafeteria. I sit outside the classrooms by the seats in the morning sometimes before classes starts." I fiddled with my pen twirling it around my fingers.

"Ok, cool. I'll go look for you down there then maybe we can go to the library and work on our assignment. I'll try and work out my schedule to fit it around school and football practices. Just tell me when you've got your gymnastic practices."

"No problem. We should be fine. I just want to get the first question out of the way about researching companies. Making the PowerPoint slides should be fine; I know how to do that. Presentation makes me nervous."

He groaned. "I hate them too. Standing there in front of the class with everyone looking at you." He made a face.

That took me in by surprise. Cameron seemed like the confident type of person. I glanced at him once again out of the corner of my eye. He was tapping his desk with his pen with a deep thought etched in his features.

"Don't worry. The class will probably forget us if we make a mistake once Catherine and Tommy presents. They'll kill each other up there!" I joked. Just talking about presentations gives me butterflies in my stomach. If I had my way in life, I swear I would never have to do any public speaking. Boy, don't we all wish that.

He chuckled. "I'm sure you'll be fine." His eyes met mine again briefly I found myself looking away once again.

"Thanks." I said shyly.

Gosh, I'm such a dork! I'm beginning to feel quite embarrassed working with Cameron. Man, he's probably thinking what a rut he's in being stuck with me. I bit my lip hoping he won't notice how weird I'm acting around him.

The school bell rang signalling the end of our period. Whew, saved by the bell! Loud chattering, schoolbooks being snapped shut, bags shuffling and chairs scraping erupted in class. I gathered my things and started packing away.

"Ok, Ann. I guess I'll see you around." Cameron grabbed his book and stood up from his chair.

"Sure. Maybe next time we can work out what we should do and schedule our group work together."

"No prob." He gave a smile before heading off the room. I gave a big sigh of relief once he was gone. Now I'm glad our first group get together is over. Just as I picked up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, Catherine came barrelling into me.

"Gosh! Tommy's such a dork! I can't believe I'm stuck with him. I mean, that's like social life suicide," she rolled her eyes. She was huffing and I might have guessed she had quite a time with him. And not really in a good way.

"I know. Practically everyone in class can see you two. Good thing you guys didn't end up starting a paper ball fight like what happened in calculus class last time. I'm sure it'll be a war this time!" I laughed. That incident sure was funny. Tommy was trying to aim for his other friend but ended up missing and hitting Cath. Cath sure was aggravated and pelted him with paper balls full force. Needless to say our teacher gave them detentions for littering.

"Ugh! Don't remind me. That worm will pay for that because I'm prepared for him. I'm going to start rounding up my paintballs this time. He'll be bright for the whole day which is a change for once in his life" she exclaimed tossing back her hair over her shoulder.

I chuckled as I followed her towards the door. Our laughter and voices could be heard in the hall as we left for our next class. If I had known that those would be one of the last moments of fun times we'll share, how I wished I had treasured them more.


	4. Working Together

DISCLAIMER: Resident Evil and its trademark are rightfully owned by Capcom.

* * *

CHAPTER 4: Working Together

I wiped the sweat off my brow as I set down my tennis racket. It was a Saturday morning and Catherine, Francis and I had just finished playing tennis. Well, it's Cath and I playing against each other while Francis is the one keeping scores.

"Yes! Six to five! You suck, Ann!" Cath gave a smug smile as she cheered for her win doing a little victory dance.

I rolled my eyes. Whenever we play tennis together, Cath is always the competitive type. I'm not bad myself, our levels are pretty equal but this time I thought I'd let her savour her win over me.

"Sure if you weren't so much as a fussy bunny and always have to repeat Ann's serves just coz "you're not ready" or you need to tie your shoelaces, Ann's serves would be counted for" Francis replied sarcastically.

Catherine scoffed. "Oh come on, man. She just serves straight off the bat without warning. Anyway, I still won". She swung her bat back and forth while we headed back to the lockers. Francis just smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Ok. We'd better take a quick shower before heading off. I'm so hot and sticky," I said pulling my yellow and white sleeveless top away from my skin. I took off my matching yellow visor cap off my head and started fanning it to my face to keep cool. My long hair was matted to my head and beads of sweat ran down the side of my face. Our tennis match was a real work out.

"Yeah. You guys stink!" Francis exclaimed. He quickly ducked and ran away while Cath picked up her water bottle and tried to squirt him with water. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, that's right! Run away, chicken!"

I shook my head as I grabbed my friend's arm and dragged her towards the ladies' shower room along with our stuff. I put my duffel bag down on the bench by the wall and opened it. A change of outfit, a bag of toiletries, a pair of flowered sandals and my golden yellow fluffy towel greeted me. I quickly dumped my tennis outfit inside my bag underneath all my things. I grabbed my towel and toiletries and proceeded towards one of the covered shower stalls, hanging my towel by the wall and putting my shampoo and conditioner by the floor.

"So Ann, what's the plan after the game?" Cath asked as she did the same and closed the door from her shower stall.

"Well, we're supposed to meet Cameron and Tommy in the mall for lunch. Then we're heading towards the library to do our group work with them," I said turning the shower knob. A blast of cold water hit my face. "Whoa!"

I heard Cath's laugh through the noisy shower. "Cold, eh? It's ok, nothing more refreshing after being under the hot sun". I heard the squeak of her shower knob turning and the water blasting off. "Whoa, that's freezing!"

We quickly finished our shower and changed into our clothes. I wore my denim shorts and my white short sleeved t-shirt and quickly shoved my feet into my sandals. Dragging a wide toothed comb along my hair I glanced up to see Cath frantically looking at the ground. I frowned.

"What's wrong? Did you drop something?"

"Ann, I can't find my earring! I must have dropped it. It was a birthday gift from my parents," she said worriedly. She dropped to her hands and knees and searched underneath the bench where our bags were.

"It must be around somewhere. It couldn't have gotten too far," I said as my eyes searched the room. "What does it look like anyway?"

"It's a gold star shaped earring. My mom is gonna kill me if she finds out that I've lost it again! I mustn't have put the butterfly at the back of the earring tight enough. Oh, great!" she moaned. She tugged her hair in despair.

"Calm down, Cath. Like I said, it couldn't have gotten too far," I made my way towards the shower stall that she used and checked the floor. I squatted down looking left and right. I checked the drainage just below the shower hose is and sure enough a shiny little star shaped earring was lying beside it. I smiled as I picked it up, careful not to drop it and fall in the drainage to be lost again. As I opened my mouth to call out for Cath, I suddenly heard something odd.

A groan.

Puzzled, I looked around but there isn't much to see inside a tiny shower stall. The walls were made up of light green tiles and some were covered in black gout. A couple of tiles were cracked with water seeping through them. The concrete ground was still wet from Cath's shower. The steady dripping from the shower nozzle seemed to echo around the walls of the tiny stall. I don't know why but my eyes suddenly fell towards the drainage. I can still hear water flowing down it in a soft gentle sound. Did I hear that noise from down there? Dismissing that silly thought, I shook my head. Great, now I'm hearing things too. I stood up and turned around to leave the stall.

"Uhhhh…"

I stopped dead on my tracks. Slowly I turned back towards the drainage. Stepping carefully towards it, I frowned as I leaned in a bit closer to see if it's coming from down there. A low growling noise erupted from underneath. I gasped and drew back. It was a groan, unmistakeably. But at the same time, it is different. It doesn't sound like an animal, yet it doesn't sound like it belongs to a human as well. It sounded like a pained groan but animalistic. It was throaty and raspy almost as if the person belonging to it needs a drink of water. It sounds frighteningly inhuman.

"Hey Ann! You found it yet? It's not around here anywhere," Cath called from the main shower room. I snapped back towards her direction and remembered that I was holding her earring.

"I've found it." I called back. I rushed out of the shower as fast as I could never once looking back.

ooooo

"Man, this cheeseburger is so good! I could eat dozens of them," Tommy said as he chomped down on his third burger. His cheeks were bulging from the food he's chewing. A few burger bits spat out of his mouth as he talked.

"Real charming, doofus. I could almost puke at the sight of you and your mashed food," Catherine rolled her eyes and turned her head away from his direction.

He grinned. "Anytime, buddy." A couple of mashed meat was stuck between his teeth. Cath wrinkled her nose in disgust and made gagging noises. Cameron shook his head and laughed.

"Well, looks like you kids are getting along".

The four of us were eating lunch at Raccoon City Mall in the food courts. Francis already went home after our tennis game to study for his algebra test. Cath's mom picked us up from the tennis courts and dropped us in the mall. It's 12:30pm in the afternoon and Catherine and I agreed to meet the guys here and proceed to do our group assignment. We would have preferred to meet up after school but due to Cameron's football practice, my tennis lessons and other extra co curricular activities the weekend is the only spot left open. As usual for a Saturday afternoon, the mall was packed with shoppers, parents pushing trolleys, crying kids and giggling teenagers.

"So I've got some books out about our assignment. Let's just make notes for today and plan who does what and when to finish," I said to Cameron. He nodded.

"Sounds good to me. We've got a bit of time for our assignment anyway. I can help write our report and prepare our presentation at the end. I might miss some football practices but heck, I want to get an A for this assignment," he said. He popped some French fries to his mouth and chewed.

"Ohhh, Cameron wants to be a brainiac now. Gonna aim to be valedictorian of our class?" Tommy mocked as he nudged Cameron on his side. He just shook his head.

"What would you know about brains, Tommy?" Cath shot back smirking as she crossed her arms. I rolled my eyes. Here they go again.

"Oh, so Miss She Devil finally speaks. I take it that you're implying that I don't have much of the brain power. Well, you haven't seen the real Tommy yet. I've got more power than you ever think," came the snide reply.

"Puh-lease! If you have one brain cell solely dedicated for brain power, you still can't handle anything!"

"Ok, guys! Shall we finish eating so we can get on with our work?" I interrupted their verbal match just as Tommy was about to open his mouth to protest. These two, they can really go on forever. I'm beginning to wonder how on earth they'll survive working together when they're already trying to rip each other's throats already. And they haven't started their assignment yet.

Cameron scrunched up his napkin and pushed his tray aside. "Cool, I've already finished. Let's go to the library now, guys." He stood up and gathered his things. Tommy quickly finished the last of his burger and stood up grabbing his backpack. I saw Cath give him a death glare before getting up. Tommy just flashed her a mock smile which I knew irritated her more. I sighed. I picked my bag up and got ready to leave. With these two around, this might be a long day.

ooooo

"Ok, here are the list of companies that we thought we might use for the first part of our assignment. We've got McDonald's, America's Cup yachting groups, the Rave band and Umbrella Pharmaceuticals," Cameron studied our list as we brainstormed the different companies who use team work. I peered over his shoulder at what we got.

"Cool. Which company do you think is the best one to use as an example?"

He tilted his head as he thought. "Well McDonalds is the easiest one. I mean when they make the burgers they're all in a line as to who cooks the meat, puts it on the bun, and puts the cheese and toppings on, put the top bun on and someone at the end wraps it all up in a paper. It's a single file group kinda thing. One member has a job to do and passes it on to the next one as he or she is done with it."

"Hey! We're choosing McDonald's. That's ours, guys!" came a reply from the other end of the table. We both looked up to see Tommy, paper strewn all over his side of the table.

"Ugh! Can't you stop thinking about food for one minute? Even our assignment is based on food," Cath scoffed tidying up the papers and books in front of her.

"Hey, hey. If it's your passion, then why not? Who knows, we might even ace this thing."

"Acing an assignment with you? Now that's an ambition," came a sarcastic reply from Cath. "Look at all these papers! I can't even tell if they're notes we wrote or just junk."

"If you live in my turf, you'll get used to it," Tommy said lazily as he folded his arms behind his head and leaned his chair back from the table.

"Fine, guys. You can have McDonalds. We were just discussing about that company," I said, my eyes flicking back to our sheet of paper. "Well what about the America's Cup yachting? They're good to research on. I mean, in order to win against the race, one has to be the captain and steer the boat. And some people help around the ship like use those turning wheels thing to make them faster. One is the navigator telling the captain where the right course is to go, one is in charge of the sail they put up and the rest of the team works together. They're a good group."

"Wow. Didn't know you know a bit about yachting," Cameron smiled at me. I felt my cheeks grow warm as I looked away from his gaze. Does he have to look so cute when he smiles?

"Well, ummm, my dad is a yachting fan and watched that sports to death. You can't imagine how happy he is when the Americans won their cup again," I said smiling shyly.

"I might try watching that game to see how it is. I've always wondered how those sporting games go."

I shook my head and laughed this time. "Sure, but I warn you they can get pretty boring. Especially if you're not really a fan of yachting. I guess the only exciting bits are when they're about the cross the finish line."

"Ok, noted. So what else have we got?" he leaned closer to check out list. "How about the Rave band?"

"Yeah, I suppose. We can classify bands a group, can we? They all work together to make music, each member has a part to do." I looked at the last company of our list. "What about Umbrella Pharmaceuticals? Do you know much about them?"

Cameron leaned back in his chair and folder his arms across his chest. "Umbrella Pharmaceuticals. Well, I know one of my dad's friend's works there. He works in the factory though. In a way, it's pretty much how the McDonalds system works. In the factory they operate the machines and boxes, packages and bottles all run in the machine and someone is responsible for putting the medicines and information leaflet in the box, seal it up and someone will then collect those boxes and seal them tight in plastic packages and someone will take over to put them in cardboard boxes to seal up and send to chemists, pharmacists, supermarkets and clinics."

"Sounds like a good company to work on. They must provide quite a bit of information too since Umbrella is a well known organisation here in the city. Do you think that we can talk to your dad's friend more about their company rules and norms and other things like that?" I asked hopefully.

"Sure, why not? I can go ask him to set aside a time to talk to us. Haha, like an interview or something," he grinned. I'm beginning to feel a bit more enthusiastic. Looks like we're getting ourselves a plan.

"Great. Now we're getting somewhere. I'm gonna write more notes on Umbrella and our group work times. So when are the times you're free for the next week or so?" I asked as I opened up my organiser to schedule our group work times.

"I've got football practice on Wednesday after school so no can do that day. On Thursday night I've gotta attend Tommy's basketball game to support him because they're up against Oceandale Junior High team. But hey, asides from those days I'm free," he said giving a shrug.

I gave a nod. "No problem. I've got my gymnastics lessons on Wednesday after school as well and my tennis practice the next day. And of course Oceandale's our school's biggest rival, you've gotta be there because Tommy's gonna need your support head on."

"Never fear, I'm gonna crush them! They're gonna be sorry for showing their faces in our courts!" Tommy exclaimed banging a fist on the table.

"Ssshhhh!"

We all looked up to see the librarian giving Tommy an annoyed look through her thick lens glasses. Sighing irritated, she turned her heel and walked back towards the reception desk.

Cath kicked his shin under the table. "You just love getting attention, you do?"

"Well forgive me for showing a little team spirit!"

"Your so-called team spirit is gonna get us kicked out of the library, genius. You really lack brain power. No, wait. You have totally no brain power."

"If you're so bright in comparison to me, let's see what you've got down our notes. Oops –" he gave a mock surprised look covering his mouth. "Omigosh! Look at your paper. Three hours in the library and you've only managed to write two paragraphs. Wow!"

"If you weren't such as loudmouth and always distracting me, I could have gotten far in our work, buster," Cath glared at him.

I turned back to Cameron and rolled my eyes. "Anyway, so should we meet up on Monday and Tuesday? We can go to the library again to look at the Umbrella website for more information. Jot notes for our report. Is that ok with you?"

He seemed to be glad to be distracted again from our friend's disputes. "Sure. I'll also ask my dad to ask his friend to set a time for us to ask him a couple of questions. Shouldn't take too long. Then after our information gathering we can finally get started on our report."

Satisfied, I smiled as I wrote down our meetings times. I'm really glad that we've finally gotten somewhere in this big assignment. Glancing shyly towards Cameron, I silently thanked heavens that I'm paired up with someone whom I can work with. Groups can be hard sometimes depending the on the person you have to work with. I'm certainly glad that I didn't get stuck with someone who's lazy and lets other people do the work with the previous groups I've worked with in school. I gotta admit Cameron is a nice guy. Back then, I would have never spoken a word to him. I'm always so shy and we hang out with different people. Getting to know him wasn't so bad. At least he's not one of those popular and egotistical jocks around. Well, not that I've seen so far. We've been working well so far and I hope it stays that way until we finish this assignment.

ooooo

"Omigosh, have you seen Jonathan Haley in their latest album? He's sooo gorgeous!" Cath giggled as we walked side by side together.

It was late afternoon and we had just finished our work in the library. The sun is beginning to set and I thought it's about time we went home before it gets dark. Cath and I are talking about the Rave band that's the latest crave among teenage girls. They had just released a new album and Cath couldn't stop talking about the lead singer.

I laughed. "Well, he's ok I suppose."

"Ok! Ann, are you blind? Can't you see how incredibly dreamy he is? He's got such a nice voice, when he sings I just can't help but melt away."

"Don't hold your breath, Catherine. It's not like you have a chance with him," Tommy joked as he poked her shoulder from behind. He and Cameron were walking behind us. They've decided to walk us home since its getting dark already and our houses are on the way to theirs as well.

"Oh, shut up! I never said I'm after him. Anyway, a girl can dream," came a snappy retort. She stopped abruptly and tried to kick him behind but Tommy quickly jumped out of the way.

"Haha, miss! Your aiming's a little off. Too much daydreaming about dream boy," he chuckled. Cath ignored him and kept walking.

"His song, Dream With Me is so nice. I listen to it heaps," she continued, her gleeful attitude back. I nodded and smiled.

"Yup. I do agree that that song is really good. I like soft ballads because they're so nice to listen to and they're so romantic."

Tommy snorted. "And to fall asleep to. They're boring. What do you think, Cam?" he nudged Cameron at his side.

"They're alright, I guess. They're not my favourite, but I can listen to them."

"In other words, they're horrible but you just put up with them," Tommy replied jokingly as he nudged Cameron again. He just shook his head and gave him a playful shove that nearly lost his balance. Cath and I laughed.

"Hey, hey! No fair, ganging up on me," Tommy crossed his arms and sulked.

"Ohhh, what's wrong? Tommy feeling upset because he's being picked on? Gonna go back to your mommy and cry?" Cath teased.

"Hmph."

"It's ok, don't cry little Tommy," Cath patted his back smirking. We all laughed. Tommy tried to keep on sulking but in the end, he threw up his hands and gave a defeated sigh. That seemed to widen Cath's smirk.

"You guys are pretty comic, you know that?" I asked raising an eyebrow looking at Cath and Tommy.

"What do you mean?" Cath asked.

"Well, both of you guys are so loud. You're a drama queen at times and Tommy's this joker who likes to pretend to be fiery and brash. You guys are at each other's throats most of the time but you do have to admit, you guys can get along," I said, now walking in front of the group as Cath fell behind as she joined Tommy when she was teasing him.

"What! I am not a drama queen! How can you say something like that?" Cath asked looking shocked, but I knew deep inside that she knows it and is not really a big deal. In short, she knows that what I said is true but like a true drama queen, denies it.

"Ha! Me and _her_ getting along? When horses sing alleluia!" Tommy exclaimed looking over at Cath as if she's sprouted an extra head.

Cameron, who was walking behind the group, grinned. "Now that Ann mentioned it, I kinda agree with her. It's pretty funny, it's ironic."

"Yeah, isn't that right, Cameron?" I grinned at him.

"Heck, yeah!"

"Ohhh, so now you guys are ganging up on us, aye? What is this, some kind of tag team? Well then, for your information you guys are funny too. As in funny weird," Tommy said giving us one of his mock suspicious expression.

"Oh, really? How?" Cameron asked.

"Well, you guys are…uh…you guys say…" he scratched his head as he thought about what to say funny about us. Cameron gave him a scrutinizing stare.

"You guys are serious most of the time. I admit you guys work well together. And there aren't many funny or weird things about you. But hey, this moron and I may argue most of the time but we're gonna pull through this assignment and get good grades," Cath said. She then gave Tommy a determined look.

"Yep! You said it. This weirdo and I may fight a lot but that just means that we're a lot more exciting than you guys," Tommy gave a lopsided goofy grin and flashed a thumbs up sigh.

Cath rolled her eyes. "You are so lame. And you called me a weirdo! Excuse me, look whose talking."

"You called me moron! Look who's talking!"

I looked at Cameron and we shook our heads. It's a never ending verbal spar between those two. "Hey, guys? When you we get home and you're still arguing – oww!"

I suddenly found myself sprawled on the ground on my knees. Pain shot up through my legs and up my knees as I hit some rocks on the cemented footpath. I winced.

"Ann!" Cath rushed to my side.

"Darn kid! That's what you get for not looking." A gruff and irritated voice replied. I looked up and saw him. He is a middle aged man with a balding head and a moustache. He was wearing a navy blue jacket and jeans. He wore a scowl on his face and his brows were burrowed deep as he looked down at me in an annoyed expression. Where did he came from, I wondered. I didn't notice him at all while walking. Somehow he looked familiar to me. Like I've seen him around before but I can't quite remember where and when.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you. It's getting pretty dark and I was talking to my friends." I replied meekly, rubbing my scratched knee. Cath and Cameron helped me up to my feet. As I got up my eyes caught the sight of his hand. It was wounded and still quite fresh. And I'm not talking about a little scratch. The wounds were shaped like a horseshoe with little marks on them. The skin was torn off and I could see the pink flesh underneath the torn skin. In fact, it was still bleeding. The skin on his hand looked like the skin of a leper. It has a brownish grey colour and bits of fleshes looked like its infected or something. Sensing my gaze he quickly drew his hand back underneath the sleeve of his jacket and glared at me.

"Well, watch it next time. What the hell are you kids doing at night? Go home already," he growled. He muttered something about kids being a pain.

"Hey. She apologised. She didn't mean it ok?" Cameron gave a steel hard gaze at the man.

"Yeah, what's with you?" Tommy answered back as he took a step beside Cath.

"I don't give a damn about you brats. Just get lost!" he gave us a menacing scowl.

"Come on, guys. Let's head over to your places. It's just a couple of blocks away," Cameron said as he led us away.

Cath rolled her eyes as she linked her arm through mine. "Ugh, what a jerk!"

"Geez, what's wrong with that dude?" Tommy giving him a glare as we walked away.

"Whatever it is, I don't care right now. Let's just head home," I said wearily giving a tired sigh. Cath nodded. From the corner of my eye, I caught Cameron giving me a concerned look.

"You ok?"

"Just a scratched knee. Nothing a band aid can't fix," I said forcing a smile.

My house is just several blocks away from the library. By the time we dropped Cath off her house and I got to my place, it was well dark. I was exhausted by today's activities. I decided to skip dinner this time. I muttered a greeting to my parents who were in the living room watching TV and headed straight to my room. Kicking off my sandals and dropping my duffel bag on the floor by my desk, I changed into my pyjamas, did my nightly grooming and fell into bed fast asleep to forget about the strange incidents that happened today.


	5. Look What the Bird Brought In

DISCLAIMER: Resident Evil and its trademark are rightfully owned by Capcom.

CHAPTER 5: Look What the Bird Brought In

A gentle breeze ruffled my hair as I hurried to my locker before History class. It's a Monday morning and as usual the hallway was packed with kids hurrying to their first period class or getting their books from their lockers. After squeezing past a group of kids, I finally saw my locker. It's located by the middle of the row and I'm glad I didn't get one that's on the top row or else I'd have trouble trying to reach up my stuff since I'm pretty short. Stopping in front of it trying to catch my breath, I hoisted my backpack back to my shoulders.

"Three…nine…six…one," I muttered to myself as I tried to put in the combination numbers for the padlock.

"You know, you shouldn't mutter the combination numbers for your locker. Someone could have heard you and note it down."

I whirled around to the voice beside me to see a grinning Catherine. She's wearing a short pink polka dot dress over black leggings and white sandals. She's leaning on the locker next to mine.

I rolled my eyes. "Since when are you the sneaky type?" My locker door opened and I grabbed my history textbook and shut the door.

"Oh, you know. I guess hanging around with Tommy so much keeps me on my sneaky side because he's full of tricks. Someone's gotta counter him, you know?" she said with her evil smile as she fell beside me on our way to class.

"Fine. Just don't be too much like him. One Tommy's enough," I replied tossing my hair back my shoulders. I jammed my book inside my shoulder bag and zipped it closed. I straightened my blue and white singlet and my white skirt before Cath and I started making our way to class.

"I wonder what Mr. Winston has in store for us. I heard rumours that the class might be having a field trip. Ohhh, which would be so cool!" Catherine nudged me on the side still grinning. I smiled back in return.

"That would be a good change. It's nice to get out of the classroom every once and again."

We arrived in our class and quickly settled in our seats. As usual, both of us sit by the second row by the window side. It's a great spot in the classroom for me. Every time I need to think about something I just look out the window and it gives me ideas for my answers. We dropped our bags on our desks and got out our books and pens. The class was noisy. A couple of boys in the corner were throwing paper airplanes at each other. A group of girls sat around a set of tables discussing the new issue of Girlzone magazine. A couple of people were discussing their assignments in other subjects.

"What's up, girls?" Tommy came towards us, a backpack slung over his shoulder and a basketball tucked under his other arm.

"Hey, Tommy. We're good. Where's Cameron?" I asked.

"Right behind you."

I turned around to see Cameron standing behind us. He gave us a smile as he pulled up a seat behind us, turned it around and sat down. I smiled shyly and quickly looked away. I don't know why, but his smile always makes me feel shy.

"How's your knee, Ann? I hope you weren't scratched too badly," he asked studying my bandaged knee.

"Oh yeah! Your knee! I was so excited to get to the bottom of the field trip class rumour that I completely forgot about that maniac we met the other night." Catherine exclaimed.

"Tsk tsk. I know you are a bubble of energy but a ditz as well? Is there anything else that wouldn't surprise me?" Tommy taunted Catherine, smirking.

He was met with a scrunched up paper ball flying towards his face. "Ow!"

We all laughed. Catherine stuck out her tongue at Tommy. He glared back at her.

"I'm fine. I'll survive. It's just a scratch. Anyway, I can't help but feel that the guy who I bumped into looks familiar. It's like I've seen him before but can't remember where." I said resting a hand on my cheek as I leaned on my desk.

"What, you've got a stalker now?" Tommy asked.

"No, no. I think I've seen him before somewhere. And did you guys see his hand?" I asked, now a worried look is etched on my face.

"Come to think of it, yeah. His hand looked infected or something. Like the skin is falling off." Cameron said.

"Gross! I didn't actually see his hand. I was more worried about Ann. But there's definitely something weird about that guy." Catherine said. She looked at Tommy. "Did you see it?"

He shook his head. "Nah. So are you saying this guy has a horrible skin infection or something? Didn't they say on the news that the attacks happening are done my some crazy people who looked like they were sick or something?"

Cameron nodded. "I heard my mom and dad talking about it the other night. The attacks are done by people who are sick, like they've got leprosy or some other skin disease."

I shuddered. "I sure hope whatever he has is not contagious. Or else we'll be in trouble!"

"Yeah! I can't bear to think about it. Maybe we should all have a check up with a doctor, perhaps." Catherine said worriedly. She was chewing her nails and I know her well enough to see that she's feeling very uncomfortable and nervous.

The bell rang. Everyone dispersed and started heading back towards their seats.

"I'll catch up with you guys later. Are we still meeting on after school today about our assignment?" Cameron turned to me before he headed to the back to his seat.

"Yep, sure. I'll meet you after your practice?" I asked.

He nodded again. "Don't forget to cheer us on so we'll do better." He flashed me a smile. I tried to hide it, but I know I must be blushing. I managed a feeble nod.

I felt Catherine nudged me again on the side. "Hey! Are you blushing? Looks like Cameron likes you!" She giggled. I nudged her back.

"Sshh! The teacher's coming!" I whispered glaring at my best friend.

Mr Winston walked to his desk and dropped the pile of papers from his arms. An old middle age man with a balding head, a moustache and round glasses, he is the typical history teacher at a high school. "Ok, class. Please get back to your seats and take out your books. Today we will be doing a new topic which is the slavery on African American people. That should be interesting."

"Are we having a field trip?" someone from the back called out.

"Where are we going?"

"We're having a field trip?"

"Can we go to the zoo?"

"No way, the zoo's boring! Let's go somewhere else!"

Questions rang out in the classroom. Kids are more interested in getting out of the classroom than learning something that happened millions of years ago. Excited whispers flew everywhere.

"I heard that we're supposed to be having a field trip this year. It's part of our curriculum. Is that true, Mr. Winston?" Catherine called out raising her hand.

I tried to hide my smirk. Trust Catherine to get down straight to the point. But secretly, I would like to go out on a field trip. It's been a while since we had one and the last one I went to was pretty boring. If I recall correctly we were studying the outer space in the 6th grade and we had a visit over at the Stardome Planetarium. We had to draw the solar system and watch a slideshow about the planets. It's not really my thing so I found it boring.

Mr. Winston sighed and put his hands on his hips. He pushed his glasses up his nose. "I suppose you kids would like to get to the bottom of this field trip news. I don't suppose any of you will pay any attention to the lesson unless you know what's going on."

"Yeah, tell us! We wanna go on a field trip!" Tommy called out.

"Field trip! Field trip! Field trip!"

Students in the class chanted. I couldn't help but join in as well. Pretty soon, Catherine was chanting along with all of us. After a few minutes, Mr. Winston held up both hands in an act of surrender.

"Alright, kids! Settle down! I'll tell you as soon as you quiet down." He said looking over the class.

Everyone became silent awaiting the news.

"As part of our History class curriculum we are to partake in a class field trip this year. Now, I have thought hard about the places we can go to and it is important that we go to a place related to one of our major topics this semester," he continued as he scanned the class.

"Can't we have a party at the park?" Tommy asked. The whole class laughed.

I saw Catherine roll her eyes at the corner of my eye. Trust him to crack a dry joke at this time.

"What the heck does that have to do with history, goofball?" she asked out loud giving Tommy a look.

"Hey, hey! Don't hate me coz I've got better ideas. We gotta have fun while we're young, you know? Who doesn't like to party?" he asked the class wearing a huge grin on his face.

The class cheered. The guys sitting around Tommy clapped and patted him on the back. I shook my head and turned back to Mr Winston.

"Sorry, but no. Our major topic this semester is the history of slavery imposed among the African American community. So I thought the best place to have our field trip is the museum. It has a whole section on American history particularly the slavery of the African American community. I am still arranging with the principal the date and time of our trip," he said. He took out some books and placed them on his desk.

I let out a deep breath. Oh my, I haven't been in the museum for a while. I've heard that the museum has had some renovation and a new section dedicated ancient Egypt and the human evolution has been added. I certainly can't wait to see those.

"The museum? How boring," Catherine grumbled under her breath. I glanced at her and gave her a nudge.

"Come on. It'll be fun! The museum is cool, you just have to look for things that interest you. Plus, would you rather spend our time outside the class or in here writing pages of notes and listening to the teacher for an hour?"

Catherine wrinkled her nose. "Well I suppose so. I still rather go to the zoo. That will be more fun."

"Like you said before. What does that gotta do with history?" I asked her raising my eyebrows. She nudged me back.

"It's way more fun! We get to see wild animals and see feeding demonstrations. Plus Mr Winston can choose a history topic in the animal section. Or going to the Sharkee's Underwater World would be so much cooler," she insisted slumping on her seat and crossing her arms.

I shook my head. "Cath, there is just no pleasing you. You really are impossible, you know?" I replied giving her a poke this time.

"Yup! Now you finally agree with me!" she laughed. I tried to give her my best annoyed look but in the end I couldn't help but laugh along with her. It's nice to talk and worry about normal things that I should only worry about.

I glanced down at my bandaged knee. I slowly rubbed it hoping to make it better soon. I just wish these strange events happening around me would disappear. But instead, they only got worse.

A flurry of black swooped past me and landed on a nearby branch on a tree just outside the window near my seat. As I studied it carefully, I noticed it was a black raven bird. Oddly enough it stood there staring at me. Its piercing eyes seemed to bore on me. It gave me the creeps. It squawked. My eyes fell on its mouth. It had something between its beak. I frowned and squinted taking a look closer. It was long and thin.

A sausage?

No, it was a flesh colour. I leaned forward to get a better view. The glare of the sun was reflecting on the window making it hard to see. The bird turned its head and that's when I saw the glinting silver band by the end of the thing it was holding.

I cried out. At the other end of the sausage-like thing in its mouth is a bloody stump. I realized that I've been staring at a severed human finger.

A/N: Sorry for the long update! Got so busy with uni, exams, assignments and work. Guess that's life, huh?


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